Cahokia man charged with reckless homicide in April 9 death of Brooklyn man

Staff report

Published
4:16 pm CDT, Monday, April 17, 2017

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Cahokia man charged with reckless homicide in April 9 death of Brooklyn man

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EDWARDSVILLE — A Cahokia man was charged Monday stemming from last week’s investigation by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis.

Terrance J. Smith, 24, of Cahokia was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, both felonies, and driving while license revoked, a misdemeanor. Judge Jennifer Hightower set bond at $200,000.

On April 9 at approximately 5:15 a.m., the Madison Illinois Police Department responded to a 911 call of a man lying in the roadway on Big Bend Road, just east of Illinois Route 203. The man was identified as Nicholas L. Roberts, a 27-year-old from Madison, Illinois.

Roberts was unconscious at the time of his discovery and showed obvious signs of head trauma. He was transported to a St. Louis area hospital for treatment. On Wednesday, medical officials pronounced Roberts dead, but he was placed on life support for organ donation purposes. Roberts was taken off life support Friday.

The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis was activated to investigate the circumstances that led to Robert’s death. The investigation resulted in Smith’s arrest.

The investigation revealed that Roberts was with Smith during the early morning hours of April 9, at a night club in Brooklyn, according to a release from Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. T. Mike Dixon. Video surveillance seized by investigators show Roberts and Smith leaving the night club at approximately 4:25 a.m. The investigation revealed the two entered the vehicle Smith was driving after leaving the night club, with plans to go home for the night, the release stated.

Shortly after leaving the club, a Brooklyn police officer stopped the vehicle for traffic-related offenses. The traffic stop took place at approximately 4:27 a.m. on Canal Street, between 8th Street and Cornell Street.

As the officer exited his vehicle and approached the vehicle, Smith accelerated and fled from the officer at a high rate of speed, east bound on Canal Street, towards Eagle Park Road, Dixon said. The Brooklyn officer re-entered his vehicle and initiated a brief pursuit, but terminated the pursuit within approximately 400 yards, due to a number of hazardous conditions and safety concerns. The officer’s in-car camera shows that he terminated the pursuit by turning off his squad car’s emergency lights, and doing a U-turn.

Smith continuing east bound on Eagle Park Road, towards Illinois Route 203, at a high rate of speed, after the officer terminated the pursuit. Additional surveillance located by investigators shows that the Brooklyn officer, as well as his backup officers, returned to normal patrols in the village of Brooklyn once the pursuit is terminated.

The investigation and evidence supports the fact that Roberts exited, or was extracted from, Smith’s vehicle shortly after it crossed over Illinois Route 203, onto Big Bend Road in Madison, Illinois, according to Dixon. The information and evidence collected during the investigation suggests that Roberts fell to the roadway after leaving Smith’s vehicle, likely striking his head on the road, causing the trauma that ultimately resulted in his death. The location where Roberts is found lying in the roadway is approximately a mile and a half from the location that the police pursuit was terminated.

Anyone having additional information related to the death of Roberts is asked to contact the Madison City Police Department at 618-876-4300.

The investigation is still active and ongoing, so any additional request for information related to the investigation will be referred to the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office.